FORMER Cloncurry junior rugby league player Kierran Moseley will step into the national spotlight and vie for an Australian jersey when he represents the state in the Queensland Open Schoolboys team next month.
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A place on the Australian Schoolboys team would cap off a fantastic year for the 17-year-old, who has gone from strength to strength since moving to Townsville in 2010 to be a part of Kirwan State High School's rugby league excellence program.
Moseley ran onto ANZ Stadium in Sydney in front of about 80,000 screaming - mostly NSW - fans last Wednesday night in the curtain-raiser to State of Origin II.
Head of rugby league at Kirwan State High School, Dave Ackers, said he should get used to playing in front of a crowd.
"Kierran currently has several NRL clubs trying to sign him, including the North Queensland Cowboys," Mr Ackers said. "He's currently the best [under 18] hooker in Queensland and is hopefully on the way to forging an NRL career."
The rugby league excellence program allows students who demonstrate exceptional talent to study rugby league as a subject while they train and play the game, and has produced 23 NRL players including Brisbane Broncos star Sam Thaiday and North Queensland Cowboys' players Aaron Payne and Jacob Lillyman.
With his family still in Cloncurry, Moseley lives with a homestay family in Townsville and begins training at 6am three or four mornings each week.
Mr Ackers said the young star has "gone to another level" in the past six to eight months and is at the top of his game.
"Something's clicked and he's training harder than everyone else," he said. "His diet and off-field lifestyle is good; he's just on top of it all."
Cloncurry rugby league stalwart Chris Waters watched Moseley develop as a junior player and agreed with Mr Ackers' sentiments about the hooker.
"Kierran is a very versatile player with an all-round game. But his biggest strength is his work ethic," Mr Waters said.
Given Moseley's natural ability and dedication to improving his game, don't be at all surprised if you see a green and gold jersey with his name on it next month.